Dust-pan



(No Model.)

P. A. SPIOER.

DUST PAN.

No. 396,668. Patented Jan. 22, 1889.

1 1 09 555E5 /wzzza UNITED STATES PATENT tribe.

PRATT A. SPICER, OF MARSHALL, MICHIGAN.

DUST-PAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Fatent No. 398,668, dated January 22, 1889.

Application filed December 5, 1887. Serial No. 257,024. (No model.)

T0 to whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PRATT A. SPIOER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marshall, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dust-Pans, of which the following is so full, clear, and exact a description as will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a bottom perspective view of a dust-pan, showing my improvement applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a side perspective view of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of my improved ear for dust-pans.

The object of my invention is to provide a device the use of which will facilitate the packing of dust-pans for shipping. Heretofore considerable diliiculty and inconvenience have been experienced in packing them for shipping, their construction requiring great care in packing, besides taking up a great deal of unnecessary space. My invention is intended to obviate these difficulties.

To prevent confusion I .refer here to an application filed by myself, to which applica tion was given Serial No. 240,165, and in which I claim, broadly, the elastic foot-rest permanently secured to the dust-pan at the lower corners.

In the drawings, A designates a dust-pan, to which is secured a removable elastic footrest, I through the medium of the ears a a, forming sockets for the ends of the elastic foot-rest.

It will be noticed that the dust-pan is shown without a handle, as the elastic foot-rest B is found to better answer the purpose. Said foot-rest 13 is constructed of elastic wire, and is formed with a loop, the upper part of which loop is bent upwardly, as (l. The wire forming said foot-rest is crossed at I), thus giving it additional resiliency, and at the free ends it is bent outwardly, forming projections c c, which fit in the perforations D D in the ears hereinafter described.

The cars a a are secured to the bottom of the dust-pan near its lower edge in any convenient manner, preferably by soldering them. There being two styles of cars shown, either of which will answer the purpose for which it is intended, I will describe each separately. These ears are made, preferably, of malleable iron, in one piece, and are tinned; but the material may be varied at will without departing from the spirit of my invention, and it may be painted, burnished, or japanned. The ear a is made tapering and ends in a point. Near the wider end of this ear Cb it is bent at a right angle to the line of the main portion, and is provided with a slot, d, outside of which slot is a projecting lug, (1, again st which the foot-rest presses as the foot is forced upon it, which serves to keep the edge and body of the dust-pan in the right position for use. On the under side of said car a and near the lower point is a perforation, D, for the reception of the projection c. The ear a is semicircular, and differs from the other car, a, in that it has no slot at its upper end. Above the ear a is a guard, E, having a perforation, c. This guard is fastened to the pan in any suit-able manner, and serves the same purpose as the slot in the ear a-that of keeping the edge of the dust-pan in its proper place relative to the floor. These cars a a, besides keeping the ends of the foot-rest in place and holding the pan at the proper angle, serve also to stiffen the pan, thus lessening its liability to warp or bend. The cars are made rights and lefts in pairs.

The method of detaching the foot-rest from the pan for shipment is as follows: The footrest is grasped on each side below the crossing and pressed inwardly until the projections are freed from the perforations in the ears, when the wire foot-rest may be drawn out of the guards or slot-s.

It will be obvious that with my invention the pans can be packed for shipment more compactly, as upon detaching the foot-rest from the pans they will nest within one another and take up but little space, and the foot-rests will fill in around them, thus tale ing up less space than the old style of dust pan. The ease and quickness with which the foot-rest can. be attached or detached are apparent and need no further description in this specification.

The pan is operated by placing the foot upon the foot-rest and pressing down upon it, thus bringing the edge of the pan into align ment with the surface of the floor and entirely obviating the necessity of stooping, which is necessary in using an old-style pan.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact construction shown and described, as it is obvious that the construction might be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit of my invention and without in any way interfering; with its usefulness.

By reference to my application for Letters Patent for an improvement in du st-pans, dated July 25,1 888, and which application bears the Serial No. 281,036, it will be observed that I claim, broadly, in that application an elastic steadying and spreading piece, which forms the foot-rest, whereas in this present application I claim, specifically, a detachable foot-rest. I therefore disclaim, broadly, the elastic footrest or steadyin g an d spreading device claimed in application Serial No. 281,036, above referred to.

Having now described the object, uses, and advantages of my invention, what I believe to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, and what I therefore claim, is-

l. In a dust-pan, a pan provided with ears, in combination with a detachable foot-rest, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a dust-pan, the pan having ears, in combination with an elastic detachable footrest, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. As a new article of manufacture, an elastic detachable foot-rest having fastening devices at its free ends to engage with a dustpan, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

4. A dust-pan having sockets for the reeep tion of the ends of a detachable foot-rest, one of said sockets having a slot and a lug to hold the end of the foot-rest against accidental displacement, in combination with a detachable foot-rest adapted to fit into said sockets and slot, substantially as described.

5. A dust-pan having sockets for the reception of the ends of a detachable foot-rest, one of said sockets having a slot and a lug to hold the end of the foot-rest against accidental displacement, the other being provided with a perforated guard, in combination with a detachable foot-rest adapted to fit into said sockets and slot, substantially as described.

(3. In a dust-pan, the pan having ears and an elastic detachable foot-rest, in combination with a guard having a perforation adapted to receive said foot-rest, and sockets for the reception and accommodation of the ends of said foot-rest, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

PRATT A. SPICER.

Witnesses:

ELIAS HEWITT, O. B. RowLEY. 

